I would also look toward the starter.
You swapped batteries so that should not be it. It works if push started but loses elec when starter is tried.
Possible bad starter that is pulling system down. After it cools it resets itself.

At least that is where I would begin.

 

Hey, cool first post... helping a guy out and all. Welcome!

 

I actually swapped batteries with my friend, but that was out in the woods. Can't be 100% sure we didn't screw something up (his battery doesn't fit so he just held it and we connected the cables lightly.

The bike does indeed start easily when I use my portable car battery jumper and connect the clamps to the positive and negative wires on the motorcycle(with the MC battery removed).

Does that point to a bad battery or is it just that a car battery has so much more juice that its getting through what a MC battery cannot?

When I throw the KLX battery on the battery tender, it reads green (good)

Ed

 

It may just be the battery. You need a tight connection to move enough current to crank the starter. Put a volt meter across it and if it drops below 10V when you crank it, its gone. You can always bring it in to have it tested. If it works fine with any other battery then you found the offending component. If voltage drops while it's running, then you have other issues.

 

If you can start the bike with the jumper, it points to the battery. But dead battery could very likely be a result of dead voltage regulator (stator wiring could be faulty, it feeds input to the regulator, but that's a rare fault).

If voltage regulator is gone, the battery will not get charged when bike is running and it will not last very long, especially when headlight is always on by default.

Best way to check it is to hook up a good battery (from your car?). Once bike is running at idle check DC voltage across battery terminals. It should be between 13 and 14 volts. If it is less than 13V the regulator is gone. Also this voltage should not change when you rev the bike.

 

Yeah, starting to think its the battery, as some of you have mentioned (Blackheart58, Lotrat, Sharan). Battery reads about 12v with a volt meter.....but that is only until I turn the ignition to the ON position. As soon as I do that, the battery does not register on the volt meter. Additionally, bike starts right up with the portable jumper (made for cars).

My portable batter jumper has a digital display, and it appears that when the bike is running, the alternator is strong enough to charge the battery because it maintains about 13.6 regardless of revving (fluctuates slightly between 13.2 and 13.7).

I'm starting to suspect that the battery cannot sustain serious load. That's why lights will work sometimes, but when the starter puts load on the battery, everything shuts down. I'll take the battery to get checked, and if its bad I'll replace it with a gel battery.

Ed

 

Internal shorts aren't uncommon, especially in motorcycles, even more common in off-road motorcycles. Consider a Lithium battery...very light weight, don't ever have to put them on a tender. I've had great results with mine. Of the 6-7 people I know that have them, only one had a problem, and it was warrantied.

 

Oops, too late. Just ordered a TruGel gel battery. Friend has a gel battery and its supposedly lighter and better than a conventional battery.

Hadn't considered lithium. When the battery goes on my 2009 DR650, I'll look at Lithium for it.

Thanks for the suggestion.

Ed

 

You did well...gel is certainly better than conventional...especially on a bike that may not always stay on the rubber! Prices keep dropping on the Lithium, too, as more manufacturers make the offering.

 

For those of you that suspected a bad battery....................YOU WERE RIGHT!!!!!

Installed the new battery and she fired right up.

I'll add this one to the lessons learned book. Had never seen a battery go bad, after starting just fine minutes before, and without warning. Well, now I have.

Thanks everyone.

Ed